Roy Lichtenstein: more than just a cartoon character

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Should we still care about Roy Lichtenstein’s brash images? This show reveals a deep thinker, says Rachel Campbell-Johnston

What’s the point of looking at the work of Roy Lichtenstein? The paintings
created by this Pop master of the pixel don’t feel so very different from
the cartoonish comic strips and catalogue pictures, or the product packaging
images and commercial posters that they adapt. Lichtenstein’s appropriation
of the printer Ben Day’s dot patterns, his heavy black outlines and bright
flat colour schemes might be instantly eye-catching. But even as they are
applauded as iconic creations, have they also become so very familiar that
they can offer little more than the buzz of celebrity recognition? Do we
really need to